A shattered world
by Zynis
Summary: In an alternative universe Shisui has an older brother. A brother that loves him very much. *Cross-posted on A03 under the same username


Shisui could easily claim that he was one of the most well-known Uchiha clan members in the village, right behind the main house family and his own brother, and only a small part of it was recognition for his shinobi work. He had only recently become chunin, and before that he had spent most of the time as a genin away from the war.

No, everything was thanks to his lovely brother, Masaru. His brother who probably was the depiction used for the word bro-con.

Even Itachi was better than his own brother. Sure, Itachi could be seen stalking his own brother Sasuke and staring creepily at him, Sasuke who is a mini-human trying to learn how to walk. But Itachi doesn't go around gushing about his own brother, while showing the pictures he had sneakily taken.

Shisui have even had fleeting thoughts of using his mangekyo sharingan to force him to stop. In the end he just accepted it. Everyone knew that shinobi became crazy after a while, especially if you were high-ranking and in the anbu like his brother. Shisui should be grateful that his brother's so-called therapeutic hobby wasn't peeping on naked girls in hot springs.

He doesn't think he could handle being known for having a perverted older brother. Overly doting brother was totally acceptable in comparison.

The head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku-san, would probably kick Masaru out of the clan for being a gaudy pervert to boot. He was probably already considering it with how he gave Masaru the evil eye every time he caught his older brother gushing about his younger brother to people. Even when Masaru was not gushing, he was a bit too un-Uchiha like.

Masaru and Shisui can't thank their mom enough for her good genes, which gave them their superb personalities. They are indebted to her, or in Fugaku-san's case blamed her.

This is the reason some people had trouble connecting Masaru with the other more serious older Uchihas in the clan. However, in Shisui eyes Masaru was perfect. He couldn't have asked for a better older brother.

All in all, he loved his brothe-

"Sui-kun!" He heard his brother shout and had a second to brace himself before impact. "Oh, I missed you so much."

Shisui had just entered through the village. He hadn't even had a minute to take in the fact that he was back before he was pounced.

Shisui, with a defeated look, was spun around in a circle, while his team from the mission watched on with sadistic joy. This happened every time. Every time! Maybe he should reconsider his thought of not using the mangekyo sharingan.

He was let go soon after and had to suffer through a health check even when he tried to reassure his brother that he was fine and not hurt.

"Onii-San can you please stop! We need to turn in our report. I promise you that I'm not hurt." Shisui said and at the same time sent a pleading look to his teacher.

"But I just wanted to make sure no stupid shinobi hurt you." His brother responded and turned to his teacher. "And Ayame-san thank you again for taking care of my little brother." Masaru bowed his head a little in gratitude.

"It's my job as his teacher. I need no thanks. But like Shisui-kun said, we need to turn in the report-" his teacher said and Shisui head lifted in hope"- but feel free to come along," which was quickly broken.

"I would love too!"

.

* * *

.

Their mission had gone quicker than expected with no casualties, which had both their employer and sensei happy. The hidden villages were fractured after the war and the amount of casualties happening because impulsive conflicts were high. Lately, there had been talk of more forces being removed from the front, but it might not happen. The peace was still fragile.

It ended up with their sensei promising to buy them dinner after next practice, but not today, since everyone was tired and wanted to spend time with their loved ones. Masaru took Shisui out for gyudon for lunch.

Afterwards, his mother made a nice dinner for the whole family.

Through the open window the cicadas singing in their garden could be heard. Every now and then the mewing of cat broke the peace. It was a perfect and warm autumn night.

The table was set and mother and father sat in front of him, with his brother to the right. Shisui smiled brightly at everyone. He couldn't help but think how happy he was to be alive. Many of his classmates and clansmen hadn't been as lucky. He could only hope that this calmness would last.

It didn't last.

.

* * *

.

Shisui didn't think much of it at the time, but now afterwards he could recall the small signs that he missed before it came crumbling down.

Masaru started to come home less. This had happened before the war ended but escalated even more afterwards. It was something their parents noticed more than Shisui, since they were always in the village unlike him.

It seemed like there were several factors to it, but in general it was explained as Masaru taking care of his grieving friend, who had lost their sibling and boyfriend in the same skirmish.

There was also a rumour of his brother hanging out it the red-light district. This rumour could neither be confirmed nor denied, but in the larger part it was discarded as trivial. There was still warfare on-going outside of the village walls, and everyone was allowed a few passes.

Months went by.

Itachi, who he had met while the other was an academy student, graduated.

Father fell ill and his health was declining, a result of a war injury. Now bedridden, Shisui's father couldn't recognize them anymore. Several times during a short time he could hear his mother crying, until it one day abruptly stopped.

Masaru wasn't home. Again.

While Masaru was away Shisui signed the crow contract. His brother complained about it afterwards for a lengthy hour, but it was clear he was simply pretending to be upset. There's no way Shisui was going to ruin his image by signing his brothers duck contract. No matter how great they were for espionage.

Then Shisui's world decided to crumble down...

.

* * *

.

Shisui had planned to sleep in and to do nothing demanding. He had only recently come home from a mission and was free for a few days.

Instead, a strong knocking on the door rudely awoke him. He tried to continue sleeping, but hearing the agitated voice of his mother arguing with people made it impossible.

He got out of the bed and walked out his room. When he reached the hallway, he noticed that his mother was speaking to the Hokage and Fugaku-san, with several anbu behind them.

His mother was on the verge of crying.

He could feel his stomach start to turn and tying itself up. Something must have happened to Masaru. Yesterday at dinner, he was informed by about his brother's new assignment that required him to be away for a long period of time. However, would that really need the Hokage and clan head to come to their home? Even if Masaru had died, it wouldn't have required this…

The Hokage appeared to have noticed Shisui, and his mother turned around when she saw the god of shinobi's gaze shifting. She looked at Shisui, her face miserable.

"Sh- Shisui, the Hokage wonders if Masaru told you where he was going yesterday?" his mother asked. Her voice was quiet but reverberated in the tense and silent hallway.

"Onii-san told me he had an extended assignment. I don't know what kind of mission. He didn't tell me," Shisui answered, and he saw the Hokage sighing with confirmation in his eyes. This was an answer he had predicted.

The Hokage looked both of them in the eyes.

"I apologize, but we need to take the both of you in for questioning." There wasn't a choice of refusal.

The Hokage nodded at the anbu and the clan head before leaving first. He took half of the team of anbu with him.

When the anbu tried to enter the house Fugaku-san stopped them.

"I will escort them to the interrogation room. There is no need to apprehend them," their clan leader said and the anbu stepped back. Mother walked out first, and Shisui hurried after her.

Shisui didn't know what hour it was. He hadn't had time to check, but when they walked out of their house most of the district seemed to be awake. No children could be seen, but several adults were out.

Everyone looked at them, radiating an indiscernible emotion, as they walked surrounded by anbu. Maybe travelling the shinobi way would have been better, or would that be a sign of guilt?

He heard crying from a few houses as they walked out of the Uchiha district and towards the rest of the village.

Shisui looked at his mother, but she was staring straight ahead, looking even more put together and stony than he had ever seen her. He thought she might be crying, like the time when father's illness became worse, but he was wrong.

It must have been early, because the rest of the village was still asleep except for a few residents. It didn't answer the question why the Uchiha district was up.

Hours could have gone by, and Shisui wouldn't have been surprised. That's how long the short walk to the interrogation rooms had felt. He and mother were separated into different rooms.

Then the questioning began.

Shisui understood know why Fugaku-san had insisted that they walked. It had allowed them valuable time to collect themselves and furthermore get a small understanding of the situation.

Still Shisui never expected to be asked why his brother, that was always being stupid and gushing about him, had killed not only the Konohagakure's elders, but also the Uchiha elders and several other shinobi and civilians in the village before escaping.

Masaru was nice. He was always taking care of people, even if he claimed to dislike doing it. Everyone knew that. He was popular with most shinobi and even civilians. Several times in the past people had come up to Shisui to speak with him, all because they were acquainted with his older brother.

His brother was nice and would never do something like that!

Right?!

RIGHT!

.

* * *

.

"This morning the elders of the Konoha council were found dead. Homura Mitokado, Danzō Shimura and Koharu Utatane were assassinated. They were not the only victims. Several Uchiha elders, shinobi and civilians were also massacred. All evidence points towards it being done by one person. Masaru Uchiha. Shisui-kun, can you to tell us why he did it?"

"I…"

.

* * *

_How was it? Did you expect that to happen?_

_I've been thinking a lot about Uchiha massacre, since it comes up in almost every fanfic. It also seems to be always inevitable. So I wanted to mix some things up. I hope to expand on it later._

_FYI_  
_Masaru is 7 years older than Shisui, and the age difference is 10 to Itachi and 3 to Kakashi._


End file.
